Research Mentors
Senior RAs receive 3–5 hours of weekly mentorship from a doctoral student. Doctoral mentors lead weekly research meetings, provide individualized feedback, and review the work of senior RAs.
In addition, the lab includes a dedicated quantitative methods mentor who provides specialized support on methodological and statistical issues, ensuring students receive strong grounding in research design and analysis.
Research Vertical Teams
The lab uses a Research Vertical Team model to create a structured pathway for skill development. Each entering research assistant (RA) is paired with a senior RA, allowing the senior RA to begin taking on responsibilities similar to those of a graduate student. Over time, the entering RA gradually takes on more complex tasks, advancing to RA II status and eventually to senior RA.
Senior RAs manage independent research projects, giving them the opportunity to develop leadership, project management, and advanced research skills.
Didactic Materials
A core training goal of the lab is to help students become critical consumers of research. To support this, the lab maintains a wiki of research articles organized with structured templates that prompt key questions for critical reading.
New research assistants are assigned journal articles to read and summarize using these templates. Their summaries are reviewed and graded by senior RAs and/or a doctoral student, who provide targeted feedback. After revisions, the finalized summaries are added to the lab’s shared library, creating a growing resource for current and future members.
This iterative review process is designed to help RAs internalize the kinds of critical questions skilled researchers ask when evaluating scholarship. These skills are further reinforced during weekly research meetings with the doctoral research mentor, where articles and methods are discussed in depth.
In addition to the wiki, the lab provides free access to courses on DataCamp for learning R, as well as in-house training modules on Moodle (currently in development). Together, these didactic materials are designed to bridge the undergraduate–doctoral research skill gap and foster strong methodological and analytical foundations.
Research Mentorship Program
The Thrive Research Mentorship program is guided by three core goals. First, it supports undergraduate seniors and recent graduates as they transition to doctoral-level research by providing close mentorship from doctoral students and offering targeted training materials designed to bridge the undergraduate–doctoral gap. Second, it creates meaningful teaching opportunities for graduate students, allowing them to develop their instructional and leadership skills. Finally, the lab fosters a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork, encouraging members to learn from and support one another as they grow as researchers and educators.
Research Mentors
Senior RAs receive 3–5 hours of weekly mentorship from a doctoral student. Doctoral mentors lead weekly research meetings, provide individualized feedback, and review the work of senior RAs.
In addition, the lab includes a dedicated quantitative methods mentor who provides specialized support on methodological and statistical issues, ensuring students receive strong grounding in research design and analysis.